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CHOP Named in Top Ranks of Health IT Innovators

September 14, 2012 — The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia achieved high rankings in the annual information technology (IT) rankings announced this week by the industry publication InformationWeek. The Hospital ranked among both the top 10 innovators in the healthcare industry, and on the list of Top 20 Great Ideas, for defining and streamlining clinicians’ access to electronic health records, while keeping those records secure.

CHOP one of only three children's hospitals in overall list of top 250 organizations

The InformationWeek 500 annually lists the leading IT innovators in the U.S. This year, the rankings placed The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) as ninth within the healthcare industry and as number 51 overall. In the overall list, CHOP was one of only three children’s hospitals in the top 250 organizations.

“We are extremely proud that our team’s efforts to improve the usability and security of our electronic health records system were acknowledged by this respected national organization,” said Bryan A. Wolf, MD, PhD, senior vice president and chief information officer at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Unconventional approaches to solving complex problems with IT highlighted among top ranked institutions

“The InformationWeek 500 has recognized the most innovative users of business technology for 24 years, and this year’s innovations were particularly impressive,” said InformationWeek Editor in Chief Rob Preston. “What the editors looked for are unconventional approaches—new technologies, new models, new ways of grabbing business opportunities and solving complex business problems with IT.”

Under the heading of “20 Great Ideas to Steal in 2012,” InformationWeek praised CHOP’s success in implementing a challenging IT project adapted to the needs of 9,000 users with nearly 500 different roles within the Hospital’s Care Network. The publication praised CHOP’s role-based security system, which permits access to specific portions of health records based on each user’s clinically defined role. The system allows each clinician appropriate access to records, no matter where the individual may move within CHOP’s network. “The system combines flexible access to information with proper safeguards on the availability of protected data,” added Wolf.